Enduro Bearings Explained
Our bearing seals are
designed and tested in house for maximum performance. We never use any
“off the shelf” parts, every component of our bearings is considered for
performance, weight, and durability, and this includes the seals. For
this reason, we have 5 types of seals for the different types of
specialized bearings that we offer. All of our seals can be removed for
service by gently prying from the inside with a small blade and
carefully lifting the seals from the inner and outer grooves.
Enduro LLB Type Seals: Our most popular seal type, this
is a Nitrile material rubber with a steel insert. Rather than the
standard 2RS type seal, we go a step further by machining a groove into
the inner race where the seal can rotate with better efficiency and less
rolling resistance. Rather than one thick seal lip rubbing on a blunt
surface, LLB type utilizes two razor thin sealing lips riding in
the groove with light contact. The outside lip keeps the water and
contaminates out, while the inner seal retains the grease for smooth
function and long intervals between servicing.
Enduro LLU Type Seals: Similar to the LLB type seal,
LLU is a full contact, dual lip seal riding in a groove on the inner
race. With more sealing pressure, these are ideal for pivots or headsets
that continually come in contact with dirt, sweat, and dust. The
increased seal pressure and 2 lips help retain the 90% grease fill we
use on these bearings to better displace any moisture and continually
lubricate the balls and races.
Enduro VV Type Seals: Developed with the idea of
rolling as fast as possible, this dual lip configuration does not make
contact with the bottom of the machined groove. Since these bearings
also have a high rate of grease fill, the grease migrates to the bottom
of the groove where a hydromatic type seal is established between the 2
lips and the grease in the groove. This grease barrier keeps the dirt
and contaminates from coming inside the bearing, while still rolling
smoothly and with the least resistance of all our bearings.
Enduro SRS Type Seals: Featured on many of our ABEC 5
level bearings, these seals employ a snap ring that can be removed with a
small knife for quick and easy servicing. These seals can be removed
with no danger of bending them while performing lubrication service,
ensuring they will spin as smoothly after. The single sealing lip makes
contact on a step machined into the inner race, and sealing as an axial
face seal. This type of seal configurations has extremely low rolling
resistance and speed, while being an effective barrier against dirt and
water.
Enduro 1ZS Type Seals: Developed for Greaseable Bearing
systems mostly found on suspension bikes, these bearings are completely
open on one side where the grease is delivered during service by a pump
through a grease fitting. As the old grease is displaced, it is purged
past the inside seal lip of our specially designed “Seal-Shield”. This
Seal-Shield will not pop off from the grease pressure, but remains in
place as the old grease passes past the sealing lip and is refilled with
fresh grease.